Republican Hispanic group slams Beason

A national Hispanic group is asking for an apology from Alabama state Sen. Scott Beason for using violent metaphors when referring to exhausting all possibilities to stop illegal immigration.
Somos Republicans, which has been fighting what it believes are incendiary comments and actions in Arizona, slammed Beason for his comments and said other comments show he does not support the birthright citizenship granted by U.S. law.
Beason, chairman of the powerful committee that determines which bills come to the Senate floor for debate, finished remarks about finding solutions to illegal immigration by saying "empty the clip, and do what has to be done."
The group condemned Beason for using the language at a time when there is "extreme tension and occasional violence over illegal immigration" and criticized the senator for not learning from similar rhetoric by other politicians, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
"Such violent metaphors can push some unstable people 'over the edge,'" according to the release from the Somos Republicans.
Beason, R-Gardendale, told the Associated Press he did not suggest any violence toward illegal immigrants or Hispanics. He told the Birmingham News he was using an analogy.
Beason has been an outspoken advocate for immigration reform and said he would like to see Alabama pass some of the reforms passed in other states like Arizona.
The organization labeled Beason as "intellectually dishonest" for backing laws that would likely be challenged in court costing taxpayers millions to defend.
The Somos Republicans, who criticized the Arizona state senator who sponsored the controversial illegal immigration measures there, called on Beason to renounce violence and "apologize for his poor choice of words."
The Somos Republicans want to increase the "Latino Republican voting block by 100 percent within two years."

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

Sarah Palin endorses Martha Roby, Beth Chapman

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed two Alabama Republican women on Wednesday, the anniversary of the 19th Amendment that opened the voting booth to women.
The 2008 vice presidential nominee endorsed Martha Roby, who is running for Congress, and Secretary of State Beth Chapman, who is running for a second term.
Roby, a Montgomery city councilwoman, is trying to unseat freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright, the former mayor of Montgomery. Both sides expect a competitive race in the conservative district.
Bright is the first Democrat to represent the district since the 1960s.
Chapman is running against Democrat Scott Gilliland.
Palin, in acknowledging the 90th anniversary of the 19th amendment, used her Facebook page to endorse several female candidates throughout the nation, including women running for Congress in North Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri, and for attorney general in Iowa and Florida.
"Martha Roby served on the Montgomery City Council where she fought tax increases and worked hard to reduce government spending," Palin wrote on her Facebook page. "She's now running to represent Alabama's 2nd Congressional District with a strong message of reform to get our country back on the right track."
Roby is still a member of the city council, where she is in her second term.
"I am very grateful for Governor Palin's endorsement and her kind words," Roby said in a statement. "She is an important leader in the conservative movement, and like many others I was inspired and motivated by her leadership and grace when she took the national stage in 2008."
Palin has not endorsed any other secretary of state, according to Chapman.
"That is quite a vote of confidence and a great show of support for which I am grateful," Chapman said.
Palin and Chapman have met twice and recently worked to try to elect former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who was running for governor there. She lost in the Republican primary to former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal.
Chapman, who also served a term as state auditor, said the endorsement is a boost to her campaign.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

GOP races for governor, AG wide open, according to poll

The Republican primaries for governor and attorney general are wide open, according to an independent poll released on Monday.
Bradley Byrne and Roy Moore are close in a race in the Republican primary for governor while Troy King and Luther Strange are virtually deadlocked in the race to be the state's chief law enforcement officer, according to the poll conducted by Baselice and Associates of Austin on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.
In both races, almost half of those polled were undecided.
Brett Hall, a spokesman for gubernatorial candidate and Greenville businessman Tim James, said the campaign conducted a poll at the same time and disputes the numbers released on Monday.
Hall agreed that the undecided voters make up more than those selecting any one candidate. He said 31 percent were undecided in their poll.
The poll conducted for the James campaign has Moore with 26 percent while Byrne and James are in a "dead heat" for second. Moore is the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
In the James poll, James finished with 18 percent and Byrne with 17 percent. Byrne is a former state senator and former chancellor of the two-year college system.
"What we see is a wide open race," Hall said.
He said both sides have the objective of converting the undecided voters.
"From other sources I am getting, this poll is way off," Hall said.
For its poll, Baselice polled 1,007 likely Republican voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percent. Mike Baselice is the pollster for Texas Gov. Rick Perry and has polled for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Montgomery firm of Public Strategy Associates, a Republican consulting and marketing firm, paid for the poll.
Brent Buchanan, senior partner at Public Strategy, said they decided to conduct the poll because other groups had conducted polls and not released them. He said the firm has a relationship with Baselice and decided to conduct the poll to show where the candidates stand because they did not have a candidate in the race.
"We've got four months and a lot of money to be spent," Buchanan said of the GOP primaries.
Public Strategy did represent state Rep. Robert Bentley, a Republican running for governor, from March through October, but no longer works with the candidate.
Byrne had 20 percent of the support from those polled while Moore was at 17 percent. James had 8 percent, Bentley had 4 percent, state Treasurer Kay Ivey had 3 percent, and Bill Johnson, former director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, had 2 percent.
Forty-six percent of people were undecided.
When people were asked about ideology, 55 percent of those polled said they were "very conservative" with 29 percent as "somewhat conservative" and 14 percent as moderate or liberal.
"It may not be this conservative if we were talking about a general election survey," Baselice said.
Ninety percent of those surveyed also said they would definitely vote in the June primary.
Moore had stronger support from the "very conservative" Republicans voters while Byrne was better among the "somewhat conservative" and more moderate voters.
When looking at media markets across the state, Byrne finished well ahead of the pack in Mobile while Moore's numbers were consistent in each of the markets.
Baselice said if a candidate for governor is persuasive "he could move into the top tier very quickly" because no one has distanced themselves from the competition.
Hall said he knows the James campaign is in better shape than the numbers in the Baselice poll.
"We're happy with where we are," he said. "We're where we need to be according to the poll. We have a clear strategy to win this race."
In the Baselice poll, King garnered 27 percent of the vote in the Republican primary for attorney general while Strange had 24 percent. Strange is a Birmingham lawyer and lobbyist. King is the sitting attorney general.
Almost half of people were undecided.
"It is still wide open," Baselice said.
The participants were also asked about their Republican choices for president in 2012. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished ahead of the pack in the state with 33 percent of the vote with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finishing with 23 percent.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished with support from 12 percent of those polled while U.S. Rep. Ron Paul had 5 percent. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty had 3 percent.
Twenty-four percent of the Republicans polled said they were undecided on their pick for president in 2012.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen